摘要：In data from the Texas Educational Agency and the Health Resources and Services Administration, we found fewer autism diagnoses in school districts with higher percentages of Hispanic children. Our results are consistent with previous reports of autism rates 2 to 3 times as high among non-Hispanic Whites as among Hispanics. Socioeconomic factors failed to explain lower autism prevalence among Hispanic schoolchildren in Texas. These findings raise questions: Is autism underdiagnosed among Hispanics? Are there protective factors associated with Hispanic ethnicity? Some studies report lower prevalence of autism among Hispanics than among non-Hispanic Whites. 1 – 3 Hispanics are also diagnosed at an older age. 4 Possible explanations include the fact that Hispanic children are much less likely than are non-Hispanic Whites to have health insurance, 3 times as likely to live in households that fall below the poverty line, twice as likely to lack a regular source of medical care, and 1.3 times as likely to experience difficulty accessing specialty care. 5 These data suggest that autism could be underdiagnosed in Hispanic children. We tested the hypothesis that socioeconomic factors, including the local density of diagnostic physicians, might explain the reported differences in autism prevalence between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. A positive answer to this question would suggest that underdiagnosis is prevalent and that access to care is preventing both diagnosis and treatment in many Hispanic children. If socioeconomic factors do not explain the disparity, the answer may lie in genetic vulnerability or heightened exposure to not-yet-identified environmental factors.
